


stepping closer to you

by painttheworldinpastels



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Doyoung as a part time worker at McDonald's, Fluff, M/M, Series of firsts, a Hot Mess, idk how to explain this i'm sorry, mentions of drinking, very minor nahyuck because why not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2020-10-28 04:18:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20772413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/painttheworldinpastels/pseuds/painttheworldinpastels
Summary: Maybe Doyoung and Jaehyun were destined to meet and fall in love, or maybe it was just dumb luck. Nevertheless, Doyoung is grateful.





	1. baby steps

**Author's Note:**

  * For [darlingchwe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingchwe/gifts).

> for one of the most important people in my life ♡

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life makes sure Doyoung and Jaehyun meet in the most ridiculous and cliché ways.

The first time they meet, Doyoung makes him cry.

Doyoung doesn't like going to the supermarket. It's too noisy and he gets nervous whenever his mother disappears to get stuff and the adults keep trying to pinch his cheeks, but his mother brings him along anyway because his older brother Gongmyung apparently can't be trusted with cute little baby Doie.

(Then again, Gongmyung did try to lock Doyoung in the bedroom the last time they were left alone together, so maybe it's for the best.)

Doyoung doesn't like being in the shopping cart. Sure it's faster and the groceries surrounding him make excellent pillows, but Doyoung likes to walk, to be in motion. What good would his years of waddling be if he was stuck in the cart's unofficial baby seat as he vroom-vrooms down the aisles? So he walks alongside the cart, holding on to it as his mother pushes it along.

Doyoung has a habit of wandering off, but he never goes too far so his mother doesn't worry too much whenever he's not in sight. He always turns up beside the cart within the next ten minutes, armed with either a story about how he saw two teenagers kissing wildly or two seniors arguing over the largest cabbage, or with a cereal box or a candy bar in his hands. So when his mother stops the cart by the toiletries Doyoung is free to amble towards the opposite aisle, drawn to the large rolls of tissue paper in packages as big as him.

While looking around, Doyoung accidentally bumps into a boy with squishy cheeks and unkempt hair, and the boy falls on his butt. On any other occasion this wouldn't faze Doyoung and he'd continue on his merry way but the boy on the ground starts wailing and the sound grinds on Doyoung's ears, so Doyoung does what he thinks will shut him up. He grabs a pack of paper towels from the shelf within his reach and whacks the boy's head with it.

Contrary to what Doyoung expected to happen, the boy doesn't stop crying. Instead, the volume of his cries intensifies. Doyoung doesn't like how noisy things are getting so he thumps the tissues back down on the boy's head repeatedly, hoping that it would shut the boy up. When it becomes clear that the boy's bawling won't stop anytime soon, Doyoung drops the paper towels and starts sobbing with him.

He hears the thundering of feet getting closer and closer, and soon he's being lifted off the floor and cradled in his mother's arms. The boy is off the ground now too, sucking on his finger with his head tucked into an adult woman's neck.

"What happened here?" The woman asks, looking towards Doyoung's mother who just shrugs helplessly. Doyoung has stopped crying and is now staring at the boy, who's rubbing his eyes furiously.

The boy sniffs and makes a shoving motion, pointing at Doyoung afterwards. Then he points at the pack of paper towels on the floor and demonstrates Doyoung's earlier actions, hitting the woman's shoulder with his chubby hand.

"Doyoung!" His mother sounds scandalized. "Say sorry right now!"

"He started it!"

"Why, what did he do, baby?"

"He just started crying!" Doyoung screams, and when he does the boy starts crying again Doyoung reaches for another pack of tissues but his mother tugs his hand away disapprovingly. "Doyoung, no, that's bad!"

The angry tone in his mother's voice makes Doyoung want to cry too, but he's not a crybaby like the other boy. He's not. So he breathes heavily and suppresses his tears, clenching his hands into tight fists. He's in trouble and it's all the boy's fault.

The woman tries to shush the boy but it's no use, and soon people are peeking into the tissues aisle to see what the commotion is all about. Both of the adults share embarrassed smiles, a mutual understanding that Doyoung doesn't get forming between them.

As the other party walks away from Doyoung and his mother, the boy sticks his tongue out at Doyoung. Doyoung glares at him until he and his guardian disappear from view.

  
  
The next time Doyoung sees him, they're at daycare. Doyoung is sitting alone on a small table for two since his friends wanted to play with blocks instead of draw, which was what Doyoung wanted to do. (He'd just gotten a new pack of crayons, and Doyoung wanted to wear the pointy ends down to nubs.) He's lazily drawing a garden when the teacher announces a new arrival, all bright eyes and wide smiles. The teacher introduces him as Jaehyun, and there's clamoring from every direction but Doyoung's. 

Doyoung narrows his eyes. He'd know those squishy cheeks anywhere. If "Jaehyun" opens his mouth right now, Doyoung wouldn't be surprised if warbling sounds are the first thing to come out. Stupid crybaby.

Unlike the other kids, who start gathering around the new boy, Doyoung stays put in his chair, reaching for a yellow crayon to draw the sun. He finishes coloring it in when a shadow looms over him.

Doyoung doesn't bother looking up. Instead, he grabs another crayon and starts shading the bottom half of the paper green.

Doyoung expected tears, maybe some screaming. Maybe Jaehyun would shove him off his chair as retaliation for what happened at the supermarket. But Doyoung doesn't expect the first thing that Jaehyun says to him to be "your flowers look ugly".

Doyoung glares at him and it reminds him of that day in the supermarket, the boy being carried away from him victoriously. It leaves a bitter taste in Doyoung's mouth. He doesn't like being on the losing end, so he challenges Jaehyun. "Yeah? You think you can do better?"

Jaehyun nods and looks around. He walks off in a different direction and Doyoung thinks that's the end of it, but Jaehyun comes back dragging a plastic chair. He nudges Doyoung to make some space next to him instead of sitting over at the other end of the table with plenty of space available, and Jaehyun takes Doyoung's paper and scribbles a couple of weird looking shapes which, admittedly, look more like flowers than Doyoung's did.

Doyoung huffs loudly, but he doesn't interrupt Jaehyun. He lets Jaehyun take over his drawing, and by the time his mother comes to pick him up Jaehyun has drawn a house and a smiley face on the sun, along with filling Doyoung's grassland with multicolored blooms. He doesn't bid Jaehyun goodbye when his mother gestures for them to leave. Jaehyun doesn't even flinch when Doyoung's chair scrapes against the floor when he gets up to go. Jaehyun only leans closer to the paper, doodling in a couple of stick people. Doyoung wants to take his new crayons away but Jaehyun looks so concentrated on his work that Doyoung just couldn't find it in himself to (he's not a monster), so he and his mother depart without them.

It doesn't matter, Doyoung thinks. His crayons will still be there tomorrow, although Jaehyun might not be.

  
  
To Doyoung's surprise, Jaehyun is still there the next day. He's sitting at the same table—Doyoung's table—with his hands folded neatly on his lap, staring at the doorway like he was waiting for something. Or maybe someone, since his face lights up when Doyoung steps inside the room. Jaehyun waves him over excitedly.

Doyoung's still a little bit mad over what happened at the supermarket so he briefly considers ignoring him and heading straight for his friends, still playing with blocks like stacking them up high enough would earn them a prize, but Doyoung really wants to draw today as well. Plus he also really wants his crayons back, so he reluctantly walks towards Jaehyun and his squishy cheeks.

Jaehyun frowns when Doyoung takes the seat in front of Jaehyun instead of the chair right next to him, but it doesn't last long. There's a stack of papers on the table and Doyoung reaches for one. He gets right into drawing another garden, but this time with prettier flowers than Jaehyun's. (He'd asked Gongmyung for help and drawing advice, and Gongmyung had been unexpectedly helpful.)

It takes Doyoung a while to realize that Jaehyun still isn't doing anything.

Doyoung puts down his crayon and looks at him closely. His hands are still settled on his lap and he's staring at Doyoung with his lips set into a straight line, both of his dimples showing.

"What?"

"May I borrow your crayons?"

Doyoung frowns. "You didn't ask yesterday."

Jaehyun sighs dramatically. "Teacher said borrowing things without permission is wrong, so I'm asking today. May I _ please _ borrow your crayons?"

A surge of power courses through Doyoung's veins. He wants Jaehyun to beg, to kiss his feet and admit that Doyoung is the best, even though they aren't exactly competing. And Doyoung almost goes through with it, almost tells Jaehyun that he needs to get down and say that Doyoung's flowers are the nicest flowers he and everyone has ever seen before he lends him one crayon, and having him say it again when he needs another color, but Doyoung sees the teacher smiling at them from her desk. She looks at Doyoung eagerly, and Doyoung doesn't want to ruin his good boy reputation, so he nods at Jaehyun. Jaehyun immediately reaches for a black crayon and he draws another pair of stick figures identical to yesterday's. Doyoung goes back to his garden and he makes his flowers so big that they take up half the paper so they're the first thing that someone sees when they look at his work.

Jaehyun's guardian arrives before Doyoung's mother does. It's the same woman from the supermarket, and she grins when she sees Doyoung and Jaehyun together. But before Jaehyun leaves he slides his drawing into Doyoung's direction, along with Doyoung's drawing from yesterday.

Doyoung takes the paper with Jaehyun's drawing and leans over it. Two stick figures with black prickly hair stare back at him, their round eyes big and slightly scary. One is smiling and the other is frowning, a "v" spanning above the frowny one's eyes serving as the eyebrows and making him look angry.

"What's this?"

"Us!" Jaehyun exclaims happily. "I drew us in your garden too!" Jaehyun pats yesterday's drawing, where two stick figures that are less detailed stand amongst the field of flowers. Doyoung looks back at Jaehyun's recent drawing and notes that the stick figures' clothes vaguely resemble the ones they're wearing right now. The frowny one is wearing a purple shirt, which Doyoung is currently sporting.

It's not a bad drawing, and Doyoung knows to give credit where it is due. "It looks nice," he tells Jaehyun in the most neutral tone he can muster, "but next time I want a smile too."

Jaehyun smile widens at the words "next time", his dimples on full display. "Okay" is all he says before getting up to leave.

"Wait!" Doyoung quickly finishes up his own drawing and hands it to Jaehyun. "So we're equal."

Jaehyun's smile grows until his eyes turn into nothing more than little slits. "Thank you! See you tomorrow!" He takes the paper and waves goodbye with his empty hand, and Doyoung waves back with a small smile on his face.

That's how things are from then on; Doyoung or Jaehyun (whoever gets there earlier) waits for the other before starting to draw. They give the finished products to the teacher, and she displays them on the corkboard at the back of the room. Sometimes they'll play with the building blocks or on the playground instead with another teacher, but it's always Doyoung and Jaehyun, Jaehyun and Doyoung.

That's how things are until Doyoung's family moves away a few months later. He isn't given the chance to say goodbye and he cries in the car, staring wistfully at the daycare when they pass it by, hoping that Jaehyun doesn't think that he's a bad person for leaving him to sit alone at _ their _ table for the first time.

.▪︎•°•°•°•▪︎.

When Doyoung was a freshman in college, new to the simultaneous wonder and cruelty of the world, a part-time job sounded like a marvelous idea. He'd have some extra pocket money, and being a responsible young adult who could juggle both academics and other endeavors would look terrific on any resumé or future documents. Plus, free food/products/services/whatever the hell he'll be selling and/or fairly large discounts on selected items!

Junior Doyoung wants to smack Freshman Doyoung upside the head. And when Junior Doyoung remembers that Sophomore Doyoung had opted to work the early morning shift, he wants to throw the Naive Doyoung of Before off a cliff.

"Hello, welcome to McDonald's, may I take your order?" Doyoung flashes a small smile at the customer as she blearily blinks up at the menu board. There's not a lot of people at 5 a.m. so she's free to take as much time as she needs, as long as Doyoung's patience doesn't wear thin. He probably looks as disgruntled as he feels, considering there was a tuft of hair sticking out on the side of his head that he couldn't get rid of no matter how hard he tried, and he's pretty sure that he was missing something from his uniform.

"One sausage McMuffin with egg please, and a large americano, everything to go," she says slowly. Doyoung nods and goes about protocol, smiling softly as he does so. He's not usually so smiley in the morning, but behind the girl stands a person Doyoung is genuinely happy to see.

When the girl takes her food and leaves, Doyoung smiles widely at the person next in line. "Jeno, sweetie, what can I get you?"

"Hi, hyung," Jeno greets him with a smile of his own, a cute eye smile that brightens the dreary early morning mood. "Just a medium coffee. And a large iced mocha for Donghyuck, extra whip?"

"Hmmm. And who's paying for Donghyuck's order?"

Jeno laughs, sliding a couple of bills on the counter. "He gave me money this time, but I had to threaten him that you'll smack him upside the head the next time you see him if he didn't."

"Damn right, I'm not a credit card." Doyoung turns to yell out Jeno's orders to the kitchen staff.

"You don't have any qualms when paying for my stuff though?"

"Because you're my baby!" Doyoung faces Jeno and pinches both of his cheeks. "My cute boy," Doyoung coos as Jeno whines, and the cashier working next to him (Doyoung thinks his name is John? He doesn't remember at the moment, Doyoung doesn't like thinking too hard before 7 a.m.) chuckles softly as they wait for more customers to come by.

Jeno's drinks finish being prepared and Doyoung places them in a cup holder. Someone lines up behind Jeno as Doyoung grabs a paper bag and shoves it in Jeno's direction. "Be careful, these are still hot. Two each for you and Hyuck."

"But hyung, I didn't order any-"

"Just take the sandwiches and go, shoo," Doyoung gestures towards the door and Jeno laughs before wishing both Doyoung and his co-worker a good day and walking out the door.

Doyoung watches him leave with a fond smile on his face before schooling his expression and putting on his best customer service smile for the next person in line. Who happens to be extremely gorgeous.

This man standing in front of Doyoung at the moment is what he's always imagined Adonis to look like: soft-looking dark hair that bounces a bit when the man looks up at the menu board, a pair of dimples deeply engraved onto his cheeks that become prominent when he purses his lips in indecision. His skin is without even the shadow of a blemish, almost poreless. He's wearing an overcoat and thin wire-framed glasses, and like stated before, he looks gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Doyoung almost drools.

(He's not usually this thirsty, he swears, but again his brain doesn't comprehend things well before 7 a.m.)

The man takes his eyes off the menu and stares straight at Doyoung, flashing him a brilliant smile. It makes Doyoung's knees shake, and he holds on to the register tightly as Mr. Handsome rattles off his order of a Big Breakfast with hotcakes, two hash browns, and one large americano, all to go.

He gives the paper bag of food and a coffee cup to the beautiful stranger with his best smile, and he hopes that he doesn't look as bad as he thinks he does. "Enjoy your meal!"

"I will, thank you, Doyoung," the customer says with a dimpled smile before turning to walk out the door.

John (or was it Johnny?) drapes himself over the register and faces Doyoung. "So, how'd you meet Hot Guy?"

"Huh?"

"You don't know him?"

Doyoung sighs. "Please, I don't think I'd ever forget anyone with a face like _ that _."

His coworker hums as he leans back, staring at the glass doors of the fast food joint, waiting for the breakfast rush which is due any minute. "I thought you were friends or something, since he knew your name."

Now Doyoung really wishes he remembered this guy's name to berate him for something so obvious. "No kidding, obviously my name tag provides so much mystery. Come on man, my name was literally spelled out in front of him."

"Doyoung." John or Johnny, whatever the hell his name is, looks at Doyoung solemnly. "You're not wearing your name tag."

  
  
The next time Doyoung sees Hot Guy is quite possibly the worst day of his life.

He was late for his 8 a.m., obtained a not-failing-but-severely-underwhelming score in a recent exam, knocked over his bottled water at lunch and sent it pouring over both himself and his friend Taeil, lost his favorite pen, and on top of all of that it was raining hard when he exited his college building and, of course, his umbrella wasn't in his bag, the perfect way to end such a dreadful day. Doyoung wouldn't be surprised if he gets run over on his way home.

He runs to the nearest bus stop and sits down on the bench, drenched and shivering because he'd worn a cardigan instead of a jacket. He watches the downpour with a sour expression, the thick wall of water preventing him from going anywhere else anytime soon. Luckily, there wasn't anyone in the bus stop to witness his shame.

Or there wasn't, until someone takes a seat next to him on the damp plastic bench.

Doyoung doesn't look. Doyoung doesn't care, because the last thing he'd want to think about in this situation is how someone who's not going to remember what he looks like after today (Doyoung isn't this ugly all the time) feels sorry for him and the drenched sewer rat look he's trying to pull off.

Drops of water fall off his bangs and slide down his face. Anyone nearby would think that he's crying, but he's not. He's no crybaby. A little bit of bad luck isn't going to ruin his life, though it certainly did ruin his day. Pride stops him from even acknowledging the raindrops trickling down his features, so he doesn't bring his arm up to wipe his face with his soaked sleeve.

Out of the corner of his eye Doyoung sees the stranger get up from his end of the bench, and a handkerchief appears in front of Doyoung. He sighs and takes a deep breath, preparing himself to tell the kind stranger that no, he doesn't need his pity (though the concern is very much appreciated), but the words die on the tip of his tongue when his eyes go from the hand clutching the handkerchief to a pair of warm, brown eyes.

Hot Guy is smiling at him, his arm still extended towards Doyoung. 

"You look like you could use it." Hot Guy shakes his hand a bit, bringing Doyoung's attention back to the handkerchief.

"No thanks," Doyoung says automatically, but the small pout on Hot Guy's face makes him want to elaborate. "I'd feel bad for taking it. I'm all good, I promise."

As if to embarrass him, a raindrop falls into his eye, forcing him to rub it with the ferocity of a small feline. Doyoung wrinkles his nose in distate. There goes his bad bitch persona, now he is reduced to merely a drowned kitten.

Hot Guy presses his lips together, probably to keep himself from laughing. It's considerate of him, Doyoung thinks as he gives in and takes the cloth to pat his face dry. He doesn't know whether he should hold on to it or return it, so he lays it down carefully right next to him.

Hot Guy is still standing, looking at Doyoung with worry. "Do you want my jacket? You're shaking."

Doyoung smiles weakly as the cold seeps into his being. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Hot Guy doesn't look convinced, but he nods anyway and sits close to Doyoung. He pulls out his phone to message someone (he has his keyboard sound on, Doyoung notices). They're not exactly sharing body heat, but having Hot Guy sit next to him makes Doyoung feel warmer than before both internally and externally. 

"Here." When Doyoung looks up, an umbrella—an expensive-looking one—is being wielded by Hot Guy. He twirls it around before throwing it upwards with one hand and catching it in the other, extending it to Doyoung after his little display is complete. "I won't be needing it since someone's coming to pick me up."

"Oh, no," Doyoung tries to refuse, but Hot Guy pushes the umbrella into his lap. "Not to be arrogant or anything," Hot Guy points towards the curtain of rain around the waiting shed, which is slowly letting up but not by much, "but you need it more than I do. And I'm here everyday at this time, so you'll be able to find me if you wanna return it."

A clap of thunder resounds in the distance, and Doyoung accepts defeat. "Thanks," he says weakly. Hot Guy grins as Doyoung toys with the handle before going back to his phone. The sound of the downpour and Hot Guy's keyboard clacking away fills the air, and Doyoung finds it comforting somehow.

A thought crosses Doyoung's mind and he turns to face Hot Guy. "Hey."

Hot Guy hums in reply. He isn't looking at Doyoung, his eyes focused on his phone screen.

"How did you know my name?"

Hot Guy stops typing. When he raises his face to meet Doyoung's gaze, there's a shy smile on it. "Guess."

"What do you mean 'guess'? I'm a cashier, not a fortune teller."

"Fine, let me give you a hint." Hot Guy takes out a pack of baby wipes from his bag and slaps it on the top of Doyoung's head, leaving it to sit there.

Doyoung blinks owlishly before grabbing the pack and handing it back to Hot Guy. "What was that for?"

Hot Guy sighs loudly as he takes the pack of baby wipes, but rather than putting it away he slams the pack lightly back down on Doyoung's head, doing it twice, thrice, four times. Hot Guy continues hitting Doyoung with it until Doyoung grabs his wrist. "Seriously, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Helping you remember." He smacks Doyoung's head once more before dropping the pack inside his bag. "Did that help?"

"No." Doyoung rubs his head. "Was it supposed to?"

Hot Guy stares at him, something unknown gleaming in his eyes. "You'll remember it eventually. You're smart, you always have been."

Doyoung stares at him long and hard. "Do I know you?"

"Maybe." A Tesla stops in front of them and Doyoung's eyes almost pop out of his sockets. "It's been a while though, and perhaps you never knew me at all." He stands up and brushes himself off. "I'll see you around, Doyoung."

Doyoung narrows his eyes at him and opens his mouth to retort but before he can say anything Hot Guy gets into the fricking Tesla and drives away, leaving Doyoung with his umbrella in the lonely waiting shed.

  
  
Nimbus clouds form on the horizon when Doyoung gets to yesterday's bus stop, but this time Doyoung is prepared. He's got a windbreaker on, and his umbrella sits nice and cozy inside his bag. He's holding Hot Guy's Davek umbrella that costs 150 USD (yes, Doyoung looked it up) in his clammy hands as he walks towards the waiting shed, and sure enough Hot Guy is sitting there, eyes glued to his phone screen.

Doyoung clears his throat and Hot Guy looks up, a sweet smile gracing his features as he looks at Doyoung. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Thank you for this," Doyoung holds out the umbrella. Hot Guy nods but he doesn't take it, patting the space next to him instead.

The "don't talk to strangers" rule reverberates in Doyoung's head, but his lower limbs bring him over to the bench anyway. He sits down a respectable distance away from Hot Guy, looking around instead of at him directly.

"Why are you alone? Is this bus stop haunted?" Doyoung stops talking and scoots further away from Hot Guy. "If you tell me you're a ghost, I'll get someone to exorcise you. My friend Taeil is a Theology major."

Hot Guy leans forward on the bench with a mischievous grin, swinging his feet like a little kid on a swing. "Have you figured it out yet?"

"That you're the undead?"

He rolls his eyes at Doyoung. "Do you need more hints?" Hot Guy extends his phone to Doyoung. Doyoung stares at it for exactly ten seconds before fixing Hot Guy with a bewildered stare.

Hot Guy purses his lips together. "Look at the lock screen."

Doyoung frowns and takes the phone. He's greeted with a garden, a scan of a child's drawing. Obnoxiously large flowers decorate it and there are two stick figures standing at the middle of it all, one smiling widely and the other frowning aggressively, eyebrows turned down in heavy black crayon. It looks familiar, like a memory from long ago.

"Wait."

"Doyouuuunnggggg," Hot Guy drawls out. "C'mon, do you really not recognize me? Even after all the times you sunk your pointy fingers into my cheeks to see if they're as squishy as they look?"

Squishy cheeks. Deep dimples. Bright smile. Doyoung searches through what he can remember of his childhood, and a couple of memories stand at the forefront. One involving tissues, another involving crayons, all featuring a cute kid by the name of—

"Jung Jaehyun?"

Doyoung is rewarded with a brilliant grin, cheeks stretching to showcase the prominent dimples Doyoung has somewhat missed. "That's me."

Doyoung tilts his head. "Huh. You grew up."

"Thanks, it's called puberty." Jaehyun pats Doyoung's head condescendingly and Doyoung pushes his hand away good-naturedly. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for my ride. And see, this waiting shed isn't always abandoned ala romance movie fashion, there's people coming." A lady in impossibly high heels sits at the farthest end of the bench, accompanied by a small boy who quietly plays with the toy car in his hands. A Tesla. _ That kid's gonna have a conniption when Jaehyun's ride gets here _, Doyoung thinks.

Awkwardness envelopes them despite Jaehyun's earlier playful demeanor. It's nothing to be too worried about since they barely know each other, but it rubs Doyoung the wrong way. He feels like he needs to say something, maybe reassure Jaehyun that he wasn't _ that _ easy to forget.

(Or maybe not. Upon deliberation, Doyoung decides that that can be taken as a pickup line. Doyoung's not _ that _ cheesy.)

The Tesla rolls up as the boy looks up from his toy, and he gasps loudly. Jaehyun smiles kindly at him as he gets up to go. Doyoung looks down to see himself still holding on to Jaehyun's umbrella, and he stands to follow him.

"Wait, the umbrella!"

"Keep it. It looks like it's gonna rain again soon."

"I have my own though—" Jaehyun cuts him off with a wave as he opens the Tesla's door. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Jaehyun's gaze is hopeful, and Doyoung just _ knows _ that his face all red. He grips the umbrella tighter in an attempt to keep his cool. "Yeah. See you."

Doyoung lies in bed that night with a huge question mark hanging over his head. He should feel accomplished, since Hot Guy's identity has been uncovered, but he feels almost empty instead. He feels like there's still something left for him to do, and that he doesn't know how to do whatever it is.

The door handle of his dorm room jingles, and Doyoung hesitates before he gets up to greet his roommate with a bone-crushing hug. His roommate Taeyong doesn't expect the embrace but he welcomes it nonetheless, patting Doyoung's back firmly. "You alright?"

"No." Since Taeyong is shorter than him, Doyoung has to lean down so he can latch his chin onto Taeyong's shoulder. "I'm having boy problems."

"That's a first."

"I know."

"Ok." Taeyong dumps his bag by the doorway and he nudges Doyoung off of him. "Let me take a quick shower, and then we'll talk about it."

Fifteen minutes later, Taeyong and Doyoung are nothing more than a jumble of limbs on the beds they've pushed together to fit both of them. Taeyong is running his fingers through Doyoung's hair as Doyoung tells him the story of a boy with squishy cheeks and a kind heart ("Are you talking about yourself again?" "Shut up and listen to me or I'll pour the entirety of your shampoo bottle down the drain."), and how that boy evolved to an extremely attractive man with a charming smile and cheerful disposition.

"Easy," Taeyong pats his arm. "Return the umbrella."

"I wasn't planning on keeping it, that would make me feel bad. What am I supposed to do with a Davek umbrella that costs more than I make in a month?"

"Sell it for money."

Doyoung rolls his eyes. "That was rhetorical."

"I'm aware. I'm just giving you a suggestion, but you won't do that because you're a good person. Also because you want to see this Hot Guy again so badly."

"His name is Jaehyun."

"Right. You know, I'm failing to see the problem here."

"The problem is that I don't know what to do next! He expects to see me again tomorrow. Am I supposed to force him into taking his umbrella and leave? Ask him about the weather? Invite him for a coffee? Give him a free upsize whenever he comes by work?"

Taeyong pouts. "Why don't _ I _ get a free upsize?"

"Because I don't have a crush on you."

"Jeno gets free food and you don't have a crush on him, do you?"

"Jeno is my baby! My son whom I have raised with my own blood, sweat, and tears, my child whom I have seen grow into—"

"Yes yes, in all ways except biological Jeno is your offspring. But you give his friends free stuff too! What about _ your _ friends?"

"Bold of you to assume that I consider you my friend."

Taeyong frowns and pushes Doyoung off the edge of their combined bed. "Goodbye, Doie."

"I'm kidding!" Doyoung grabs a pillow and smacks Taeyong with it as he scrambles to get back on the bed. "You have to help me, you're the only one I know with a romantic partner!"

Taeyong raises an eyebrow and Doyoung sighs. "The only one I know _ and love _. My bestest friend, my soulmate, my babycakes, my honeybunch sugarplum—"

"Please save your pet names for Hot Guy."

"Got it. Now _ help me _."

"Well, what do you want to get out of this? An acquaintance, a friend, a close friend, a best friend, or a friend you wanna smooch?"

Doyoung pauses for a moment. "Let's start with being friends. We can work our way up to the smooching."

"So you do want to smooch him."

"I don't call him 'Hot Guy' for no reason, Yongie."

"Alright then. Talk to him."

"About what?"

"Anything and everything. Your hopes, your dreams, what you had for breakfast that morning. Tell him funny stories about the customers you get. Tell him about that professor whose hairstyle is so ugly you want to shave all of his hair off, about that time someone stole your old phone but returned it immediately when they saw that it was a fricking Nokia. Or just greet him good morning and tell him he looks nice."

"Yeah, no to that last one." Doyoung huddles closer to Taeyong, his head bumping into Taeyong's jaw. Taeyong makes a pained sound before readjusting and squeezing Doyoung's shoulder lightly.

"The first step to a relationship, _ any _ relationship, platonic or otherwise, is communication. If you want to get to know him better, you _ have _ to talk."

After a whole minute of staring up at the ceiling, Doyoung turns to face Taeyong. "I could compliment his umbrella," Doyoung says weakly. "Do you think that would work?"

Taeyong tries his best to shrug in his position, but it ends up turning into a weird shoulder shimmy. "Sure, tell him how much you love the plain blackness of it. Matches your heart."

"Yuta wears black all the time, how does it feel to be reminded of me whenever you're with your boyfriend?" 

"Doie, I will leave."

"To go to your boyfriend in his black clothes and black hair and dark gaze and think of me? Why do that when I'm right here?"

Taeyong groans. "I try to give you advice and this is how you repay me?"

"No, I will repay you with takeout and cuddles." Doyoung shoves his phone in Taeyong's face. "Quick, pick something to eat for dinner."

Comfortable silence envelopes them as they lay together. Taeyong is flat on his back, tapping away at Doyoung's phone like it was his own, his arms encircling Doyoung. Doyoung's feet are hanging off the bed as his head lays on Taeyong's chest. It's so peaceful that Doyoung doesn't want to ruin it by speaking, but he has to say it. "Taeyong?"

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you."

Taeyong smiles and pecks the top of Doyoung's head. "Anytime, Doie. Now do you want New York-style or meat lover's?"

"We're having pizza again? Didn't we have pizza two days ago?"

"Troubling times calls for grease. Which one do you want?"

"Hawaiian."

"Goodbye, Doyoung."

  
The next day, Jaehyun is waiting at the bus stop with airpods in. He's tapping his feet along to a beat, and he looks so young and carefree that Doyoung's reminded of the boy who pushed someone off a chair because apparently he'd reserved that seat for Doyoung.

Doyoung takes a deep breath and gathers all of the courage he can muster before plopping down right next to him. The plastic bench makes a creaking sound and it startles him, but Jaehyun doesn't even flinch. Doyoung reaches a finger out and reluctantly pokes his (very muscular) arm.

Jaehyun takes out his airpods as soon as he sees who his company is. "Hi."

"Hi." Doyoung sits up straight and cuts right to the chase. "I feel like we have a lot of catching up to do. So what do you say? Lunch at McDonald's when you're free? It'll be my treat."

There's a beat of silence, and by the time Jaehyun opens his mouth to answer Doyoung is convinced that it would be a polite refusal. "I appreciate the offer, but I'd like our first date to be a bit more memorable." 

Doyoung bristles. "Excuse me? I'm not asking you on a date! I'm just asking you on an...intimate get-together."

Jaehyun snickers. "Fine, whatever. But I pick the place. And I'm paying."

"A cheap food joint, then."

"Define 'cheap'."

"Within a minimum wage worker's salary."

Jaehyun's brows furrow in confusion. "How am I supposed to estimate that?"

"Find a way." A group of teenagers pass by them, rambling on about bubble tea flavor options. A young man passes by next, carrying a toddler in his arms. Doyoung smiles at the kid and the kid smiles back, making a gurgling sound as the child reaches out for Doyoung. Doyoung makes a funny face, and the child's happy babbles can be heard until they're out of sight.

"Small world," Doyoung mutters as he looks back at Jaehyun. "Who knew I'd meet you again?"

"Maybe it's destiny," Jaehyun jokes, poking Doyoung's cheek. "I've always wanted to do this," he explains as he grabs Doyoung's face and pinches his cheeks. "You always did it to me but you never let me do it to you."

"'Because your hands were always dirty and you refused to wash them." Doyoung wrinkles his nose as Jaehyun's fingers tickle his features. "Please tell me your hands are clean."

"I used alcohol not even ten minutes ago." Jaehyun continues massaging Doyoung's face until he's satisfied. Doyoung figures that he owes it to Jaehyun, so he doesn't bat an eye when Jaehyun starts exposing his gums and teeth and even his nostrils to the chilly wind.

When Jaehyun is done, Doyoung points to the phone in his lap. "You have my drawing as your lock screen?"

Jaehyun's smile turns sheepish as he sticks his phone into his pocket. "I like it a lot," Jaehyun says softly. "Reminds me of good times, when things were simpler."

Doyoung leans back on the bench. "Wanna visit the daycare sometime? It's not far from here, I think. I'll look it up if you like."

"You're very forward, Doyoung. I'd love to."

Doyoung pushes his shoulder lightly. "Not a date."

"An intimate get-together still sounds very romantic."

"Ah. I forgot you're the Valentine Boy. Everything must sound romantic to you."

"So you agree?" Jaehyun's looking at him with so much fondness that Doyoung can't bear to refuse him anything. "That it's a date?"

Doyoung thinks about it. Maybe it really is destiny, or maybe just dumb luck. Still, Doyoung has nothing to lose, and everything to gain. They're not friends, not even close, but they'll get there eventually. And maybe someday they'll be more than that. Baby steps for now. "Fine. It's a date."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🎵 - [ Your Favorite Song by Jeong Sewoon ](https://open.spotify.com/track/7iU2Eo83zxTFM18mnjgEYN?si=T7QLxoSATECr7ljpyEwNNA)  
(the lyrics don't match but I was going for the nostalgic vibe that the song brings)
> 
> This first chapter would do as a one-shot tbh? Shoutout to Kerrie who read the half of the first draft, Baby Doyoung is dedicated to you ♡


	2. one step, two steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a series of firsts, from first dates to first "I love you"s and some things in between

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (idk if this warrants a trigger warning but there is a scene where Jaehyun gets anxious, and though I don't think it's a full blown anxiety attack I'll mention it here anyway! I'll leave a * from the beginning to the end of that v short scene just in case)

Doyoung is a very frugal person. He opts for buy-one-take-one packages and whatever's cheapest among all the available options (without sacrificing quality, of course), he does most of his shopping when there's a sale going on, and he  _ will _ fight for his valid coupons, so Doyoung is understandably appalled when Jaehyun's first reaction to his favorite shirt getting ruined by a particularly nasty condiment stain is to buy a new one.

"Are you sure this can't be washed out?" Doyoung turns the fabric over in his hands, rubbing his fingers over the dried stain. They're sitting at Jaehyun's favorite bus stop and the bench squeaks as Doyoung moves, examining the stain from different angles.

"The laundromat people said it's hopeless."

"Have  _ you _ tried washing this out?"

Jaehyun looks taken aback. "Me? I don't know how."

Doyoung stares at him blankly. "You don't know how to wash clothes?"

Jaehyun snorts. "Of course I do, I wouldn't be able to survive if I didn't. But I don't know how to get that stain out."

Doyoung ponders for a moment. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna keep this shirt and try to get it out. You, on the other hand, will not buy a replacement worth more than twenty bucks."

Jaehyun looks baffled. "Don't shirts usually cost more than that?

"Not if you don't buy them at the most expensive part of the menswear section. Look, there's a flea market coming up in a couple of days, we should go down there and look around. It'll be good for you, and I get paid by then so we can have dinner afterwards, my treat. What do you say?"

Jaehyun cocks his head. "Huh."

"What?" Doyoung narrows his eyes. "If you're telling me you're one of those people who only shop at high-end—"

"It's not that!" Jaehyun interrupts him. "It's just that I didn't expect you to be the first to do the asking. On a date, I mean."

Doyoung slowly lowers the shirt onto his lap. "Right. A date."

Jaehyun rubs his neck. "Unless...it isn't? That's cool too, what did you call it before? An intimate get-together?"

"Please never remind me that I ever said that," Doyoung groans. "Is Nervous Me really that cringy?"

"No such thing as cringe culture anymore, feel free to call your dates hashtag intimate get-togethers and own it. Be yourself."

"You're a menace."

"And you'll be taking this menace on an intimate get-together!"

"Please,  _ please _ just call it a date. It's a date, alright?"

"Okay," Jaehyun smiles as he leans back on the bench. "It's a date."

  
Doyoung gets a text message later that night from none other than Jung Jaehyun.

**crybaby**

You do realize that this means that our first date will be at a flea market?

Doyoung frowns down at his phone. Curse Jaehyun's formal way of texting; now he feels awkward.

**me**

do you have a problem with that?

also why do you type like ur talking to a prof lol

**crybaby**

Not really? It makes the date all the more memorable, I suppose.

Auto-capitalization

I'll try to be more hip, as dem kidz say

see you on sat?

Doyoung chuckles softly, and Taeyong leans over his shoulder to read his screen. "Who's crybaby?"

"Shhhhh, go away!" Doyoung tilts his phone away from Taeyong's line of view. It takes him a hot minute to decide on an emoji (is it acceptable to send him a heart yet?) and his fingers hover over the send button as he rereads his message, wondering if it's too impassive. He tries to reword it a few times but he ultimately sticks to his original message, short and simple.

**me**

see you 😊

Jaehyun is fine on the bus (but then again, what college student doesn't know how to take the bus?). He sits near the window silently, looking out at the blur of scenery and holding on tight to the seat in front of him whenever the bus lurches forward violently. Doyoung finds it cute how Jaehyun wrinkles his nose whenever the bus screeches to an abrupt stop, and he suppresses the urge to hold Jaehyun's hand. They're not at that level yet.

The bus ride goes without a hitch, and they get to the market area without any problems. But while Jaehyun was fine on the bus, he is  _ not _ fine at the flea market.

Doyoung is halfway through a bargain when he feels someone grab hold of him. He whirls around with an arm raised, ready to smack if it was a robber, but he's met with Jaehyun's frantic expression. "Where'd you go?" Jaehyun asks as he slips into Doyoung's personal space, which though very romantic isn't exactly recommended in a cramped market stall. 

"You weren't behind me?"

"No," Jaehyun practically wails. "I lost you almost thirty minutes ago. And you weren't answering my calls, I didn't know where you went."

***** Jaehyun looks like he's on the verge of tears, and it makes Doyoung feel bad because leaving your date in the middle of your date is not polite, nor is it behavior that guarantees a second date. So he lets Jaehyun cling to him as he goes back to talking to the vendor (he manages to snatch up two rubber slippers for the price of one), and Jaehyun attaches himself to Doyoung like a leech as they make their way around the marketplace. Jaehyun's looking around like it's a haunted house, a deep frown on his face as he scurries behind Doyoung everytime someone so much as bumps into him. By Doyoung's fourth purchase (a nice pair of earrings he thought Taeyong's boyfriend Yuta would appreciate), he finally feels the pain of Jaehyun's death grip and brings Jaehyun to a corner not too packed with people.

"Jaehyun?" Doyoung puts his hands on Jaehyun's shoulders. "Jaehyun, I'm sorry."

Jaehyun looks at him and nods before looking back at the market nervously. "I'm fine, I just...," Jaehyun barks out a tense laugh. "That was a really stressful thirty minutes." *****

"Sorry."

"It's fine." Jaehyun smiles at him. "Let's go back? There was something I wanted to check out."

"Sure." Doyoung turns around to start walking back towards the stalls but Jaehyun stops him with a soft tug on his sleeve. "Doyoung?"

Doyoung whirls around worriedly. "Yes?"

"Don't leave me again, okay?"

Doyoung nods, a small smile on his face. "Okay. Do you wanna hold my hand while we're here?"

Jaehyun eyes Doyoung's hand but he shakes his head. "I'll be fine," he says softly. "Let's go? Round two?"

Doyoung grins. "Let's go."

  
Though Jaehyun sticks with Doyoung for a few minutes more, eventually he gathers the courage to do some shopping of his own and he breaks away from Doyoung to eye some sunglasses. He buys some snacks he thinks his friends would like and he spends more time than necessary looking through a rack of polos, but Doyoung lets him do whatever he wants.

(He makes sure that he's always within Jaehyun's sight though, just in case.)

Jaehyun doesn't buy too many things and he tells Doyoung that it's so that he can help him carry the four eco bags Doyoung's brought along. Jaehyun's consideration makes his heart race, but he pushes his feelings aside as he spies a stand selling pants with a giant 50% off sign hanging over the products. His feels can attack him another day, or even later after he's done shopping; right now, he has a mission to accomplish.

By the time they exit the flea market, Jaehyun looks bedraggled and exhausted. He lets out a relieved exhale when Doyoung asks him if he's ready to, and he doesn't make a fuss as Doyoung leads him to the campus McDonald's. Johnny raises an eyebrow as Doyoung walks up to the counter. "Here for a date or an extra shift?" 

"Here for two Big Macs with large fries and drinks."

"Got it." Johnny punches the orders in. "Who's paying? Employee discount or nah?"

Doyoung rolls his eyes. "Even if it wasn't me paying I'd still demand my fricking discount. I deserve it."

"That, you do." Johnny gives Doyoung's orders to the kitchen staff, and he does a double-take when he gets a good look at Doyoung's date, who's lounging on one of the nicer tables near the glass. "Oh, it's Hot Guy. I thought you didn't know him?"

Doyoung looks over his shoulder to peek at Jaehyun, who is currently staring at both of them. Jaehyun sends him a flirty wink and Doyoung turns back to Johnny hurriedly, a blush high on his cheeks. "Well, now I do." Doyoung clears his throat. "So, how was your day?"

"Not very interesting, how was yours?"

"The opposite of yours."

"How nice." Johnny places Doyoung's food on a tray. "Have fun on your date."

"Thanks, Johnny."

"Did you have fun today?" Doyoung asks nervously as he sits down and set the tray on the table. Jaehyun scans the meal hungrily, and as soon as Doyoung picks up a french fry he unwraps his burger and takes a giant bite. "Mmmmm."

"Mmmmm?" Doyoung mimics.

"Mmmmm." Jaehyun beams as he munches on a handful of fries. "Aren't you going to eat those?"

Doyoung looks down at where he's separated the crispy fries from the limp ones. "I like the crispy ones better," he says as he takes a bite of his own burger. "But did you have fun today?"

Jaehyun smiles as he picks through his fries, taking out all of the crispy golden ones and depositing them on Doyoung's side of the tray. "Yeah, I had fun."

"Are you sure?" Doyoung deadpans. "Was crying in the middle of the market fun?"

"First of all, I did not cry. The tears didn't fall, so it doesn't count. And second, after I got past the initial shock of it, it really was an incredible adventure," Jaehyun grins as he lifts a soggy fry to his mouth and chews thoughtfully. "I got a nice shirt and a couple of gifts out of it, and I got free food so I consider this day a win."

Doyoung looks down at his now large stack of crispy golden fries. "You're a great person, you know that, right?"

"I give you fries and you go all soft on me? Didn't expect that it would take such a small gesture for you to break." Jaehyun locks eyes with him as he sips his drink, and there's genuine joy in Jaehyun's gaze. "I really did have lots of fun today, even if I'm tired as hell. Thank you Doyoung."

"You're welcome. You think you can survive a round three?"

Jaehyun smirks. "Bring it on."

Jaehyun ends up walking him home because even though Doyoung didn't get to use all four of his eco bags, three is still a lot to carry for just one person. Taeyong opens the door and exchanges pleasantries with Jaehyun as Doyoung finds a place to store the bags, and they bid Jaehyun good night. As soon as the door closes, Taeyong closes in on Doyoung. "So that was Hot Guy?"

"That was Hot Guy."

"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said he was hot."

"...I'm gonna tell Yuta."

"Please, he'd probably try to get us involved in a poly with Hot Guy if he wasn't already taken."

"He's very single, thank you very much."

"Currently reserved to you, though."

Doyoung rolls his eyes. "Just shut up and help me unpack these."

"What  _ did _ you do today?"

Doyoung fills him in, and Taeyong looks at him incredulously afterwards. "Let me get this straight: you took him to a flea market and brought him to your workplace—a fricking McDonald's—on your first date?"

Doyoung shrugs. "Let's consider it a part of the 'getting to know me' stage of our relationship."

"If he calls you again I'm going to be genuinely surprised."

Doyoung's phone gets a notification then, and Doyoung shows it to Taeyong smugly. "Surprise, bitch."

**crybaby**

Until next time?

**me**

until next time 😊

.▪︎•°•°•°•▪︎.

When it's Jaehyun's turn to take Doyoung on a date, Doyoung's pleasantly surprised to discover that Jaehyun has chosen a quaint little coffee shop. He's even more surprised to discover that Jeno's roommate Donghyuck works at said coffee shop, greeting him with an enthusiastic "Doyoungie-hyung!" and an aggressive arm wave. Doyoung waves back at him, less aggressively.

"What will you have?" Jaehyun asks Doyoung as he scans the menu board.

"Iced caramel macchiato, grande. Could you order for me? I'm gonna go incriminate a criminal." Doyoung hands over a couple of bills, and Jaehyun freezes as he rejects the money offered. "I'm sorry, you're gonna  _ what _ ?"

"Don't worry about it," Doyoung assures him as he tries to tuck the cash into Jaehyun's hand. When he succeeds, he points to the pick-up counter. "You see that boy over there? The one with the round head, squishy cheeks, looks harmless and adorable? Don't be fooled, he encouraged my son to stay up late last night to play video games. On a school night."

Jaehyun confusion only grows. "You have a son?"

Doyoung was about to answer yes but Taeyong's disembodied voice floats in his head, warning him not to declare Jeno his legitimate offspring lest he wants "dire consequences". "Oh no, he's not my actual son, he's just my baby. Wait, no, that doesn't sound any better." Doyoung inhales sharply. "He's not  _ actually _ my son, but I treat him like he is."

Doyoung notices a gaggle of people congregating outside the coffee shop so he gently nudges Jaehyun towards the currently very short line, knowing it won't stay that way for long. "I'll explain some more later." He starts heading for the pick-up station but Jaehyun holds him back by tugging on his sleeve.

Jaehyun folds the money and presses it into Doyoung's palms. "You paid last time, it's my turn now." 

Doyoung examines Jaehyun's expression, and when he sees no trace of backing down Doyoung nods in defeat as he makes his way towards Donghyuck, who's waiting for him with a mischievous grin.

Doyoung doesn't waste any time. "What time did you and Jeno fall sleep last night?"

"A little before four," Donghyuck says proudly.

"Don't the both of you have an 8 a.m. today?"

"The important thing is that we're still alive," Donghyuck says solemnly.

Doyoung is not pleased. " _ Donghyuck _ ."

"Okay, fine, I'm sorry. I'll try to be less of a bad influence, but in my defense we took a nap in the afternoon so we're not  _ that _ tired."

Doyoung purses his lips in distaste, and Donghyuck sighs. "Yet. Jen probably already fell asleep in a lecture, buttt," Donghyuck drags out his words, "it's Friday! We're allowed to slack off a bit after such a stressful week."

"So why didn't you wait for today instead of wasting precious rest time?"

Donghyuck pouts. "Jisung invited us for a game and we haven't been able to hang out with in so long, so we decided to go for it."

Doyoung opens his mouth to argue that Jisung is in high school and hasn't yet experienced the pressures of college life, but he takes one look at the bags under Hyuck's eyes and he decides not to scold him today. He knows Hyuck traded in sleep for school work this week, and he's right—they deserve a bit of reprieve. "Fine. Whatever. Say hi to Jisung for me next time."

"So we're allowed to have a next time?"

"Donghyuck, I swear to god, I'm willing to pay Renjun to babysit you guys full time at this point."

"And Renjun would accept the offer."

"If payment comes in free McFlurries, do you think he'd still accept?"

"Please, you'd need to give him free  _ everything _ for him to accept, and when you do he'll eat at McDonald's for the rest of his life."

Doyoung grimaces. "That's not very healthy."

"We're college kids, hyung. We survive on caffeine and fast food."

"You kids give me a headache. Tell Jeno and Renjun to come to my dorm for dinner; Taeyong's cooking tonight."

"Noted!" Donghyuck tilts his head towards the counter. "He's cute, hyung."

Doyoung follows his eyes to the counter, where Jaehyun is rattling off their orders with the cutest smile on his face. "Back off, Hyuckie."

Donghyuck raises his hands in surrender. "He's all yours! But you might wanna talk to Jungwoo about it."

"Who?"

"Him." Donghyuck points to the god manning the counter, all doe eyes and charming smile, floppy hair falling into his eyes. He's talking to Jaehyun leisurely as there isn't anyone behind Jaehyun in line and Jaehyun is laughing, dimples on full display. Doyoung finds himself wishing for the pack of rambunctious teenagers outside to come in. Now, please.

He narrows his eyes. "Ah.  _ Him _ ."

Donghyuck looks amused as Doyoung glues his eyes to their exchange. He's distracted from Doyoung's jealous fit when his co-worker Jaemin With the Beautiful Smile hands him someone's order. Even after a customer comes up to collect the drink Doyoung's still staring at the two chit-chatting by the counter, and Donghyuck rolls his eyes. "Jungwoo's our resident pretty boy."

"Oh? It's not Jaemin anymore?"

Donghyuck whips his head around to see if anyone overheard, and Jaemin winks at him from behind a coffee machine. Donghyuck turns bright red and he hisses at Doyoung. "Hyung!"

Doyoung smirks at him but it collapses when Jaemin comes over with two drinks. "Here you go, one grande iced caramel macchiato, one grande iced americano, and a kiss for my Hyuckie," he says as he pecks Donghyuck's temple. Donghyuck is stunned into silence.

The cute little display doesn't faze Doyoung. "Are these for me?"

"Yeah? You came with the guy Jungwoo-hyung's talking to, right? These are his orders."

"He's done ordering?"

Jaemin taps the drinks lightly. "Yup. These are the products of my hard labor and your hard earned cash."

"So why are they still talking?"

Donghyuck snaps out of his daze then and he snickers at Doyoung's disgruntlement. "Pretty sure they're allowed to talk to each other."

"I'm not saying they're not, but  _ why _ . Why isn't he picking up the orders?"

"Because you're here?" Jaemin pipes in. "He probably thinks you'll get them, which isn't wrong."

"Then why isn't he sitting on a table and waiting for me?" Doyoung stops himself. "I mean, for the drinks."

Jaemin backs away slowly. "Have fun dealing with the green-eyed monster, cutie," he says as he walks back towards the coffee machine. Hyuck grumbles out a "there aren't even any new orders, how dare he leave me alone with a grumpy Doie hyungie" as Doyoung collects the drinks to go find somewhere to sit. Before he turns away, he pinches Hyuck's arm and whisper-yells, "He's totally flirting with you, Hyuck!"

"He does that to everyone though, he's naturally affectionate!"

"Even to Jungwoo?"

" _ Especially _ to Jungwoo."

"Ah, so he's going around stealing everyone's men. Women too, probably. Truly Jaemin's comrade."

Donghyuck shrugs. "It's not his fault that he's pretty."

"True." Doyoung pats Donghyuck's arm in consolation. "No more school night video game endeavors, do you understand, Hyuckie?"

Donghyuck nods. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Come over to work tomorrow morning with Jeno, breakfast's on me."

Hyuck's eyes sparkle. "Really?"

"Really." Doyoung casts one last look at the counter, where Jaehyun and Jungwoo are still deep in conversation. He huffs at Donghyuck's knowing expression and he turns away with a sneer, heading for one of the few tables with leather chairs instead of plastic ones.

Seven minutes after Doyoung has settled into the soft chair the teenagers  _ finally _ enter and get in line behind Jaehyun, prompting him and his new friend to end their chat. He scans the room and the cute dimpled smile pops out when he spots Doyoung, who simply raises an eyebrow towards the empty seat in front of him.

"Hey," Jaehyun's smile is blinding but Doyoung is too sulky to appreciate it, grunting in response instead.

Jaehyun notices the drop in Doyoung's mood. "You okay?"

"Yes." Doyoung stirs his drink with the straw. "Are you?"

"Uhm. Yes?"

"Oh? Thought you were disappointed by having your convo cut short."

"With Jungwoo?" Jaehyun looks towards the counter and waves. Jungwoo, still in the middle of taking orders, smiles and gives a tiny wave in return. He sees Doyoung's frown deepen and grins as wide as his stretchy cheeks let him. "Wait, were you jealous?"

"Of course not," Doyoung says gruffly. "But I'd assume if someone took me on a date, they'd want to spend time with  _ me _ ."

"I don't think leaving someone in the middle of a flea market is 'spending time' with them," Jaehyun teases.

"That was an accident!"

"I'm joking," Jaehyun laughs. "He's a friend of a friend, and we're mutuals on social media. I've only talked to him a handful of times, but we match really well so we caught up with each other for a bit."

Doyoung tenses and taps his fingers on the table. "You  _ match really well _ ?"

"Not like that! I don't want to date him or anything, I only want to date you!" Jaehyun exclaims, and he flushes promptly. Doyoung thinks he looks like a cute tomato, and he loses some of the tightness in his shoulders. "Ah no, wait fuck, so uhm, about your son? You promised to tell me more about him?"

Doyoung sneers a bit at the abrupt topic change, but he indulges Jaehyun anyway. He tells him about Jeno and how they met, how he was assigned to give the freshmen the welcome tour in high school and was instantly whipped for the quiet kid at the back with an eye smile that melted his icy heart. He tells Jaehyun about Jeno's fur allergy and his determination to become a veterinarian nonetheless, his love for animals trumping over everything else. Doyoung had worried about it for a while, but seeing how happy Jeno was around pets put him at ease. He tells Jaehyun about how picking Bio as his major is taking a toll on Jeno (and Donghyuck too, an unfortunate soul who was suckered into wanting to become a doctor throughout his childhood and is now beginning to regret his life choices). He tells Jaehyun how grateful he is for Jeno's friends: Donghyuck, Jeno's ride-or-die, his partner in crime, his best friend, his soulmate; Renjun, Jeno's confidant, someone who looks after him when Doyoung can't; and Jisung, someone Jeno treats like his own sibling, someone whose growth inspires Jeno's own. He tells Jaehyun about how thankful he is that he got to meet Jeno and become a part of Jeno's life, how Jeno is the younger brother he's always wanted (no offense to his actual brother Gongmyung), how Jeno motivates him to be a better person and a good role model. Jaehyun listens intently, taking occasional sips of his americano and nodding in agreement when needed.

"You know how sometimes you see someone and you're hit with this strange urge to love them forever and protect them from all harm? That's what I felt when I first saw Jeno, this platonic sort of affection. I'd do anything for that kid," Doyoung says fondly. "He's my baby, perhaps not literally but he's  _ my baby _ ."

"Yeah, I get it. I kinda feel that about your friend over there." Jaehyun gestures towards Donghyuck, who is smiling sweetly as he hands a customer a drink overflowing with whipped cream. Doyoung smiles back involuntarily, and when he sees Jaemin smiling at Hyuck too his grin intensifies.

A second later though, Doyoung is filled with dread. "No, oh god, please don't adopt Donghyuck. I'd go bald before I hit thirty."

Jaehyun chuckles. "I have a kid like Jeno too. His name's Chenle, he's on my former basketball team. I love him with all my heart, and by how you describe your kids I think they'd all get along well—especially with Donghyuck, since Lele likes stirring up trouble too. Not enough to make you tear your hair out, but it gave me a migraine once so I don't know how you'll like that."

Doyoung smiles warmly. "They'll love him."

They sit in comfortable silence for a while, and when Doyoung empties half of his drink he clears his throat to get Jaehyun's attention. "Although I do love talking about Jeno, we came here on a date to get to know  _ each other _ better."

"I did get to know you better—Jeno's an important part of your life. I liked knowing about him, and about you in the process."

_ There's an awful lot of blushing today _ , Doyoung thinks as he blushes. "So tell me about yourself," Doyoung says a little too loudly, attracting the attention of an elderly couple. Doyoung bows slightly to them in apology.

Jaehyun chuckles awkwardly. "This suddenly feels like when it's your first day of school and the teacher instructs you to say three interesting things about yourself."

"It doesn't have to be interesting, you could tell me about an assignment and I'd still be willing to listen."

"Well, what do you want to know?"

Doyoung leans forward, placing his chin on his palm. "Everything."

Jaehyun tries. He tells Doyoung about his hobby of collecting vinyl records, how his record player is his most prized possession. He tells Doyoung about his love for basketball and how he had to push it aside to prioritize his studies because his parents expect him to inherit their business, as their only son. He tells Doyoung about how he isn't really fond of coffee but he took Doyoung to a café anyway because Doyoung likes it.

That last part makes Doyoung blush some more and he covers it up with a slap to his cheeks, saying something about how cold it is. Jaehyun offers to lend him his jacket immediately but Doyoung declines, inviting him on a stroll outside instead to warm up.

Before they leave, Doyoung sneaks a peek at the counter. Jungwoo winks at him and Doyoung quickly whips his head around, eyes wide. Huh. So maybe Jungwoo really didn't want his soon-to-be man.

"You alright?" Jaehyun asks him as he holds the door open. A strand of his hair sticks out like an antennae, and Doyoung smiles as he pats it down. "Just peachy," he replies as he pinches Jaehyun's cheeks. He grins broadly as he slips his hand into Jaehyun's. "Everything's perfect."

Somewhere in the middle of this, Jungwoo snaps a picture of Doyoung and Jaehyun smiling at each other stupidly and sends it to a group chat.

**Kim Jungwoo**

aye sicheng, tell jaehyunie he and his date look super cute together!!!

**Nakamoto Yuta**

wtf is that doyoung???

**Dong Sicheng**

You know him?

**Nakamoto Yuta**

he's tae's best friend! omg does he know

**Dong Sicheng**

Go ask him u idiot

**Nakamoto Yuta**

brb

Five seconds later and Jungwoo's phone is pinging with multiple notifications. He excuses himself from a customer to turn off his ringer, and he sees the cascade of messages.

**Nakamoto Yuta**

ITS DOUONG

DOYUUMG

DOYOUNG

TAEYONG SAID IT'S DOYOUNG

THAT WAS DOYOUNG

THAT'S DOYOUNG WTF

WTF

DOYOUNG'S DATING???

AMAZING

OHMYGOD DATES MEAN HE'LL FINALLY LEAVE THEIR DORM

TAEYONG AND I CAN SPEND TIME TOGETHER SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN OUR CRAMPED APARTMENT

**Dong Sicheng**

Hold on cowboy

WHY do you need private time with your boyfriend 👀

**Nakamoto Yuta**

Bc privacy

Some people like that @sicheng

We're not doing any funny business i swear when i said we were studying we really were studying!!!

**Dong Sicheng**

uh huh

really

hmmm

**Nakamoto Yuta**

@jungwoo help me out here man

Jungwoo

Jungwoo!!!

@jungwoo

@jungwoo

JUNGWOO

Jungwoo smiles as he puts his phone on silent. He sends the pic through Instagram messages to Jaehyun too, captioned with  _ you're always smiley but you look much happier when you're with him _ 🥺.

When Jungwoo checks his phone after his shift, he has 153 group chat messages (and 34 mentions, probably all from Yuta) and a reply from Jaehyun.

_ I like me better when I'm with him too. _ ☺️

.▪︎•°•°•°•▪︎.

Finals week is draining for everyone, and Doyoung feels like collapsing as soon as he hands in his final exam. He trudges his way to his dorm and he sleeps for fourteen hours. When he finally wakes up the next day Taeyong is knocked out and snuggled up behind him with an arm over his waist. That's funny, were the beds pushed together last night?

Doyoung doesn't move in fear of waking Taeyong up, but Taeyong slowly peels his eyes open a couple of minutes after Doyoung woke up. "Morning," Taeyong mumbles as he rolls over and hugs a pillow instead. 

"Afternoon," Doyoung corrects him. He sits up and rummages through the things on top of the bedside table. "Hey, have you seen my phone?"

Taeyongs hums in response, still sleepy and disoriented. Doyoung gives himself a quick pat before begrudgingly getting up to search the bed. "Yongie, come on, help me look."

"Later."

"Now, please."

"Sleep."

Doyoung huffs. "After I find my phone."

"Dammit, Doy—oh my god, that scared me," Taeyong springs off the bed and rubs his butt. "Found your phone," he says as he points to where he was lying down just a second ago, the screen flashing with a notification.

"Thank god I put it on vibrate." Doyoung scoops it from the bed and Taeyong flops back down.

**crybaby**

Are you busy tonight? Do you wanna hang out?

Oh wait lemme try again

r u busy tonight? do u wanna hang out?

**me**

it's fine, the auto caps are cute lol

wait lemme ask taeyong if he's got any plans

Doyoung pokes Taeyong to check if he's awake, and Taeyong swats at him like he's an annoying bug. "Yongie, are you doing anything tonight?"

"Sleep." Taeyong presses the pillow against his face to block out the light filtering through the curtains.

"Too much sleep is unhealthy."

"Then let me die."

Doyoung's hands itch to push Taeyong off the bed, but that's too mean considering they spent the whole week and the week before that hunched over schoolwork. They could probably use the rest, but Doyoung hasn't seen Jaehyun in two weeks. However, Doyoung also doesn't want to leave Taeyong alone, especially if he was just planning to lock himself up in the dorm and maybe play a game for a couple of hours before sleeping again. "Wanna do something fun with me and Jaehyun?"

Taeyong removes the pillow from his face. "You want me to third-wheel your date?"

"Do you want to?"

"Hell no." Taeyong turns over to his other side. "I'll invite Yuta over so we can cuddle or something, don't worry about me, okay? I'll eat dinner, I promise."

Doyoung pouts. "You really don't wanna come with me?"

"I refuse to spend my night looking at the both of you fawning over each other."

"Fine. I didn't want you there in the first place. Hmph." Despite his words, Doyoung sits on the ground beside the side of the bed Taeyong is on and he pulls one of Taeyong's arms down so he can latch onto it as he constructs a text to Jaehyun.

**me**

taeyong said i could go

**crybaby**

It's honestly so cute how you ask each other permission to go out

**me**

he almost bust a vein last year when i slept over at a groupmate's house and my phone ran out of battery so he couldn't contact me, telling him avoids problems on both sides

though ngl i'd go ballistic if the same thing happened to him

anyway where are we going?

**crybaby**

Somewhere fun. Also somewhere secret

**me**

oh? what did you have in mind?

**crybaby**

😉

"When you said somewhere secret and fun, I didn't think you meant somewhere _illegal_."

"Speakeasies are permitted now, we don't live in the 1920s, Doie." Jaehyun opens the door for Doyoung and they step into an unassuming sandwich shop. 

"See!" Doyoung hisses as he shows Jaehyun his phone. "'An illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages'!"

"Doyoung, that was when drinking was illegal. And honestly, what kind of college student accepts Wikipedia as citation?"

"...right." Doyoung frowns as he surveys the area. The only other people there were a couple and a middle-aged woman. "So where is it?"

"Later. We'll have dinner here first and then we'll step downstairs." Jaehyun throws a wink at the person manning the counter as he pulls Doyoung up front to see the menu. The cashier rings them up and fist bumps Jaehyun when their food is served. "So you come here often?"

"Quite. I usually go with my friends but they wanted to sleep in, which is probably a better way to celebrate getting finals over and done with than getting drunk on margaritas."

Doyoung snickers. "I could've been cuddling with Taeyong right now so this better be worth it, Jung."

"It'll be fun, I promise. And if you want a cuddle, I'm always happy to provide."

Doyoung pinches a small section of crust off of his sandwich and throws it at Jaehyun, and when Jaehyun laughs Doyoung hopes that he doesn't notice the blush high on his cheeks.

"Well. This is certainly something."

"Yeah?" Jaehyun smiles as they step off the rickety elevator. "Welcome to heaven."

"Pretty sure heaven doesn't sell alcohol." Doyoung looks around, eyes blown wide with wonder. There are rows and rows of different types of booze in glass cabinets lining the walls, and the area gives off a cozy vibe despite the wealth of liquor on display. "Amazing, how'd all this fit here?"

"There's magic in this area, Doyoung," Jaehyun says as he leads Doyoung to the bar. "And most of that magic can be found in the killer drinks my friend Sicheng whips up."

"Ah, is that how you stumbled upon this little shop of wonders?"

"Yeah, Sicheng was on sandwich duty when he first started working here and I accidentally leaned too hard on the wall. It opened and I literally fell into the tiny room with the elevator and ta-da."

"His weight almost destroyed that hollow part of the wall," one of the bartenders butts in. He extends a hand towards Doyoung. "Hi, I'm Sicheng. I've heard a lot about you."

Doyoung gives him a firm handshake. "Only good things, I hope."

"Sadly my knowledge of you comes mostly from Yuta's complaints so I'm sorry to say that not a lot of them were positive."

Doyoung whirls to face Jaehyun. "You know Yuta?"

"Kinda?" Jaehyun looks confused. "He's Sicheng's friend, we don't really talk much. Why does he complain? What did you do?"

Doyoung sneers. "He's Taeyong's boyfriend."

"...oh."

"Oh, indeed. And to think I let him and Yongie desecrate our dorm room while he's out here trash talking me, probably whining about how I never leave the dorm so he can't canoodle with Taeyong there. He complains about his roommate too, you know. Says he's too prickly and Taeyong's mildly scared of him."

Sicheng coughs awkwardly. "Um. I'm Yuta's roommate."

"...oh."

"Yeah. Lots of 'ohs' tonight, but we can talk about that later. What can I get you tonight?"

Doyoung leans forward on the bar top, "I don't know Sicheng, what  _ can _ you get us tonight?"

Sicheng mimics Doyoung. "I make a mean strawberry daiquiri," he whispers conspiratorially. "Best in the business."

"Wonderful. Give us two."

"Just a minute." Sicheng turns around to grab the cocktail shaker and both Jaehyun and Doyoung settle onto the bar stools in front of him. They watch as Sicheng adds in strawberries, rum, grenadine, lime juice, and some syrup along with a couple of ice cubes and gives them a quick shake, tossing it in the air and catching it with practiced ease. Doyoung watches him in awe as Sicheng pours two portions into stemmed glasses and slides it over to them. "Tell me what you think of it, Doyoung. A little validation would be nice before I tend to other orders."

Doyoung takes a sip. "I don't know if it's the best in the business, but it's definitely the best one I've ever tasted."

"I'll take it," Sicheng smiles. "Now if you excuse me, I must share my gift with the world. Or at least with the fifteen other people in the establishment. Nice to finally meet you, Doyoung."

"Nice to meet you, too. Hopefully it's not the last time." Doyoung raises his glass to Sicheng as he slinks away to serve another customer.

"You're getting along with my friends well," Jaehyun comments as he takes a sip of his daiquiri.

"Well you managed to handle Taeyong and the kids, the least I can do is make myself pleasant to your friends. Though Yuta kind of ruined that."

Jaehyun laughs, leaning backwards on the stool. "I don't know, I've heard that Yuta complains about a lot of things so you're all good. And I've only met two out of five of your kids."

"We'll fix that soon."

"We shall. I'll bring Chenle too; it'll probably bring us a migraine, but they'd have fun." Jaehyun stands and holds out a hand to Doyoung. "Wanna move to a booth? It's comfier there."

"Sure." Doyoung grabs his glass in one hand and Jaehyun's hand in the other and they shuffle towards a booth with a chandelier hanging above it.

"So," Jaehyun starts with a dimpled grin when they've settled in. "How'd your finals go?"

Doyoung groans. "Please don't ask."

They stay there for hours, watching people come and go. Sicheng personally serves them more daiquiris and he and Doyoung trade information about Yuta. "The more blackmail material, the better," Sicheng reasons as he places their third drink on the table.

When Sichengs leaves, Doyoung points at the daiquiris on the table. "How good is your alcohol tolerance?"

"Pretty decent, I could probably finish four of these no problem. You?"

Doyoung grins mischievously. "Bet I could drink more than you can."

Jaehyun's eyes narrow at him. "Bet."

Five drinks later Doyoung and Jaehyun are hunched over Jaehyun's phone, laughing at a chemistry meme that probably isn't very funny in the first place. Sicheng looks at them sternly as he brings over two glasses of water. "No more drinks for you two."

"But whyyyyyyy," Jaehyun whines, clinging onto Sicheng's arm. "We're having a competition! A drinking competition! You should join us!"

"No thank you, since I'll be the one taking your drunk selves back home. Write down your addresses before you both collapse."

Jaehyun shakes his head at the paper and pen that Sicheng offers him. "Yuta's not home, so we can crash with you!" Jaehyun smiles at him, the apples of his cheeks flushed red, and Doyoung thinks he looks extra,  _ extra _ adorable like this.

Maybe Sicheng does too, because he sighs and lets Jaehyun turn the paper into an airplane. He watches as Jaehyun throws it into the air, but it doesn't fly very high and lands two feet away from them. "Get it for me, Sichengie!"

"No more paper for you, too. No alcohol, no paper, just a cool glass of water. Drink up, Jae," Sicheng watches carefully as Jaehyun chugs the liquid down before turning his attention to Doyoung. "You too, Dons."

"Dons?"

"Only I can give him a nickname," Jaehyun pouts. "And 'Doie' is much cuter than 'Dons'."

"But you didn't give me that nickname. Taeyong did."

Jaehyun huffs. "Well, I'm stealing it."

"Right." Sicheng pats Jaehyun's back before turning away. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes, behave please."

"Aye aye, captain." Jaehyun salutes him amd Sicheng salutes him back.

Doyoung smiles dazedly at Jaehyun. "You're a whole lot cuter when you're drunk."

"I'm always cute though?"

" _ Cuter _ ." Doyoung ruffles his hair. "An absolute cutiepie. Do you know that song? You're my honeybunch sugarplum, pumpy-umpy—"

He's interrupted by a man suddenly launching into an off-key rendition of Kiss The Girl from The Little Mermaid, complete with a guitar that he wasn't playing correctly and a lovey-dovey gaze directed towards the lady sitting next to him. A couple of people sing along with him, but most of them stay silent to listen to the man's (slightly grinding) voice as he sings his feelings and desires out.

"I love Disney," Doyoung sighs.

"Me too."

"I've always wanted to see one of these in person, you know? A serenade. I've never thought about executing one or being on the receiving end because that's too much work, but watching other people do it is nice."

"Me too."

Doyoung turns to look at Jaehyun. They're squished together on one side of the booth, Jaehyun's arm heavy over his shoulders. "I wanna kiss you."

Jaehyun's eyes glimmer under the soft light of the chandelier over their heads. "Me too."

Doyoung leans in first. The man's warbling resounds in his ears, loud shalalalalalas echoing through the mellow atmosphere. "Let the music play, do what the music say," Doyoung sings along softly, lips brushing against Jaehyun's lightly.

"You've gotta kiss the boy," Jaehyun smiles, eyes crinkled, dimples out in full force. Doyoung hears the man crooning "you've gotta kiss the girl" repeatedly, and though Jaehyun wasn't a girl, who was he to deny Sebastian's advice?

The kiss is soft, nothing more than a peck before Jaehyun deepens it. Doyoung can hear clapping directed to the direction opposite them, where the man had finished his song and was probably kissing the girl, but when Jaehyun gently bites down on his lip his attention is pulled back to his own kiss. It tastes sweet, like strawberries and a budding romance.

.▪︎•°•°•°•▪︎.

Doyoung is a frugal person, so when he starts officially dating someone with lots of money to burn he's thrown into some sort of culture shock. Jaehyun spoils him, surprising him with numerous gifts. Sometimes it's a bottle of water or a hearty meal, other times it's a really nice eyeglasses frame or a pair of sneakers he'd been eyeing. One time it was a fricking cell phone (Doyoung had gone out drinking with Taeyong and his battery had died in the middle of a phone call, leaving Jaehyun worried and anxious) but Doyoung had somehow managed to convince Jaehyun to return it.

Sometimes he wonders if he snagged himself a boyfriend or a sugar daddy.

Sometimes Doyoung feels bad that he can't pay him back but Jaehyun always assures him that it's not a problem, that he wants to pamper Doyoung. So sometimes Doyoung just lets him be and accepts the fact that gifts are Jaehyun's love language.

There's still a line though, a boundary silently set by Doyoung. It's simple, really—everything should be within reason. Nothing too flashy or too ridiculous.

That line is crossed when Jaehyun pays off a greedy professor who threatened to fail Doyoung's class if they weren't able to scrounge up the money they would have paid him for summer classes. Corruption was rampant in many aspects of life, but Doyoung certainly didn't expect it to happen to him so soon. He's frazzled and upset, constantly keeping in contact with his classmates as they think of a solution. It lasts up to a week, and Jaehyun worries. He always does.

Sometimes Doyoung thinks that'll be Jaehyun's downfall.

They're sitting at the bus stop—their bus stop—when Doyoung mentions it, the anonymous donation their professor had received that included a note that said it was for their salvation. "What a coincidence," Doyoung smiles. "Though we should still file a case with the school board. God knows how many students he's done this to and how many more he'll try to con."

"He's new, so not a lot of the faculty will miss him if he's kicked out," Jaehyun agrees.

" _ When _ he's kicked out. My last hurrah before my graduation next semester is to get him fired." Doyoung leans back on the bench closes his eyes, and Jaehyun copies him.

They bask in silence for a while, and then Jaehyun opens one eye to peek at Doyoung. "Hey, Doyoung?"

"Hmmm?"

"That made you happy, right?"

Doyoung opens his eyes and thinks it over. "Kind of? I'm certainly relieved and thankful, but also kind of wary because who would send such an atrocious amount of money without expecting anything in return?"

Jaehyun smiles knowingly. "I would."

Doyoung rolls his eyes. "Of course you would, you're—"

And it clicks. Jaehyun knew, and Jaehyun has the money. Doyoung faces Jaehyun, who has a wry smile on his lips. "Jaehyun, you didn't."

"Maybe I did."

Doyoung stands up abruptly. "Jaehyun, what the fuck!"

Jaehyun's eyebrows furrow in bewilderment, not knowing why Doyoung's so angry. "I don't see what's wrong with it, I was just trying to help—"

"You're encouraging him to continue being this corrupt, imposing figure! There could have been another way, we were looking for another way! We could have reported him to the school board or something. We were going to. You didn't have to drop a shitload of money just to save our asses! And you could get yourself in trouble! God, Jaehyun, didn't you think this through?"

"It's an anonymous donation, he won't know it came from me. No one will."

" _ I _ will! I'll know it came from you, and I'll feel guilty about it for the rest of my life. How the fuck am I supposed to pay you back?"

"You're not supposed to! I did this for you—"

Doyoung runs a hand through his hair. "Stop this. Stop buying me things, stop babying me! Stop doing these extravagant things and expecting nothing in return! Stop telling me this is all because you like me or some shit—romance doesn't pay the bills, Jaehyun! I feel bad whenever you do something for me that I can't compensate for. Stop, just, please," Doyoung can feel his legs wanting to give out, so he sit down as far from Jaehyun as he can. "Please stop."

Jaehyun is annoyed now. Doyoung can feel the irritation coming off of him in waves. "You're overreacting, this isn't a big deal."

"To  _ you _ it's not. You not being able to see the problem is  _ part _ of the problem. You're spoiled, and you get everything you want when you want it. You throw money at all of your problems and expect them to go away, and for the most part they do! So you keep doing it, you keep making others feel small and inferior even if you don't intend to. You buy them nice things and suddenly they live to serve you, right? You're a fucking brat."

"And you're ungrateful."

"At least I'm independent! You traipse around and expect everyone to fall over backwards for you. You think you're important because you've got money? You're just another trust fund baby—"

Jaehyun gets up then. The wild look in his eyes is a threat and the hand clenched tight into a fist is a warning, and for a moment Doyoung is scared of Jaehyun.

But Jaehyun doesn't raise the fist. He doesn't swing. Instead he runs far, far away, leaving Doyoung sitting alone at the bus stop. It's a scene Doyoung's been in before, and he's beginning to despise it.

They don't talk for two weeks.

Taeyong tries to persuade Doyoung into reconciling with Jaehyun but Doyoung won't budge. It's not that Doyoung doesn't think he's wrong, because looking back on that day he admits that he was too harsh, and he admits that half of what he said was nonsense. It's because he's afraid of how much he's hurt Jaehyun. He looked so wounded by Doyoung's words, and Doyoung doesn't know if he could ever make it up to him.

Maybe the universe has had enough one particularly gloomy afternoon, because Doyoung stumbles upon Jaehyun sitting at the cursed bus stop, eyes blank as he stares at nothing. It's been so long since Doyoung's last seen him, and his fingers twitch to reach out towards him. Doyoung bites his lip. He  _ really _ should talk to Jaehyun.

_ The universe wins this round _ , Doyoung thinks as he tries to make as little sound as possible, not wanting Jaehyun to scurry away as soon as he sees him. "Hey."

Jaehyun stiffens. He doesn't look up.

Doyoung crouches down so he can look Jaehyun in the eye. "Hey."

"Hi." Jaehyun's voice comes out scratchy, like it's been unused for a long time. Doyoung clasps his hands together as he sits a respectable distance away from him. "So."

"So." Jaehyun folds his hands and puts them on his lap, looking like a scolded child.

"I'm sorry," Doyoung starts. "I didn't mean it, I was just mad. You were just trying to help, I understand that now. I'm sorry."

Jaehyun looks up then. His face is a bit blotchy, but it remains as smooth as ever. Doyoung is still jealous of his complexion, but this isn't the time to ask Jaehyun about his skincare routine.

"I'm sorry too. I didn't realize I was making you uncomfortable. I just...wanted you to be happy."

Doyoung frowns. His fingers twitch again, wanting to lace them with Jaehyun's. He fidgets a bit, sitting on his hands to stop himself from doing so. "I  _ am _ happy. I'm happy with you."

"I want to make you happier, then."

Doyoung sighs as he finally places his hands on top of Jaehyun's. "You don't need to spend on me to do that.

"But thank you for doing so," he adds when Jaehyun opens his mouth to argue. "I appreciate it, I really do. Sometimes it gets too much, but I shouldn't really complain."

Jaehyun shakes his head vigorously. "If it makes you uneasy, that's enough reason for me to cut back. I'm sorry I didn't notice."

"No, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Communication is a two-way street."

Jaehyun breathes in shakily. "So, what now?"

Doyoung braces himself for rejection. "I said lots of stupid things, half of which weren't even true. You're a good person, and yeah, okay, you're a bit too lenient with your credit card, but that isn't your defining trait as a person. You're kind and sweet and thoughtful and you're an absolute angel, one we as a species don't deserve. Do you think you could ever forgive me?"

"I hear the words 'trust fund baby' thrown around a lot, but stings a lot more when it comes from someone who actually knows you."

Doyoung bows his head. "I really am sorry. I know I hurt you."

Jaehyun squeezes their intertwined hands; Doyoung doesn't remember when that happened. "It's okay, I get it. I'll try to be...less extravagant from now on." Jaehyun cracks a smile as he changes the subject. "You know, we're always at this bus stop when something big happens."

Doyoung bites down on his lip to prevent his answering grin. "You noticed too? I'm getting kinda sick of it."

"Would you rather we do this at your workplace instead?"

"Please, Johnny would laugh if we even attempted to do anything coupley there."

Jaehyun tilts his head in thought. "We never really talked about our relationship, did we?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, we're not just friends but we're not boyfriends exactly?"

Doyoung snickers. "Who said we weren't boyfriends?"

Jaehyun whips his head so quickly Doyoung is afraid he'll hurt himself. "We are?"

"Did you think that I just went around kissing my friends on the lips? Is that a platonic thing now?"

"Friends do that sometimes."

"Fine, if you wanna be just friends—"

"No! I wanna date you!" Jaehyun turns beet red at his outburst. "Uhm. If you'll have me."

Doyoung brings their interlaced hands up to his lips and presses a soft kiss on the back of Jaehyun's hand, a tacit promise. He's aware of how words can ruin things, or how words sometimes aren't enough to express something, so he sits with Jaehyun, basking in tranquil silence that says more than Doyoung ever could.

.▪︎•°•°•°•▪︎.

"You want to come home with me? Jae, are you serious?"

Jaehyun blushes furiously. "I mean, aren't we at the 'meet the parents' stage already? You already met mine."

"By accident. You didn't tell me they were coming over, and I don't think I made the best impression."

"Hmmm, I don't know. Personally I think your tongue down my throat is a god-tier sight; their eyeballs have been blessed."

"Jaehyun, I will deck you."

Jaehyun laughs as Doyoung whacks him with a pillow. Taeyong had left as soon as Jaehyun stepped inside their dorm, muttering something about running out of body wash. They're sitting on Doyoung's bed, sorting out things to bring on his trip back home for winter break. "Won't your parents want you back home for the holidays?" Doyoung asks as he folds a sweater.

"They have a business trip scheduled, and I'd rather not spend my Christmas conversing with stuffy adults and having them question my life choices." Jaehyun picks up a comb. "I can stay at a hotel if it's too much trouble to stay over at yours."

"My mother would love to accomodate you, don't worry. Are you sure though?  _ Really _ sure? You seemed a little scared that one time Gongmyung-hyung video-called."

Jaehyun shrugs. "Maybe he's less scary in person."

"My dad will interrogate you."

"And I will do my best to appear worthy of his precious son." Jaehyun smiles. "So is that a yes?"

Doyoung smoothes out a shirt, picking at imaginary lint. "I'll have to call and ask, but I doubt they'd say no."

Jaehyun grins widely, wrapping an arm around Doyoung's shoulder. "I'll let my parents know I'll be staying with you."

"Not sure if they'll be too thrilled about that."

"Believe me, they will. I let them taste the leftover bulgogi you made for me last week and they said it was really good. I'll call you the next time they visit so you can cook for them and redeem yourself." Jaehyun stands up and walks towards the door. "Now if you excuse me, it's my turn to make an impression, and I intend to make it a good one."   


A few hours later, when Taeyong has returned to their dorm with two large bottles of body wash because apparently they're only available at the 7/11 in the campus, Doyoung receives a text from Jaehyun.

**my dearest crybaby**

Uhm. So what does Gongmyung-hyung like?

Doyoung rolls his eyes as he types up a reply.

**me**

he doesn't deserve nice things

jk he likes twice and his bias is jeongyeon

**my dearest crybaby**

Noted

The trip goes better than Doyoung expected it to, probably because Jaehyun has managed to slay the dragon that was Gongmyung by offering him all the versions of Twice's latest comeback album, complete with pre-order benefits. Gongmyung had pulled four Jeongyeon cards out of who knows how many, and he had foregone the look of disapproval he'd bestowed on Jaehyun when they first arrived. Doyoung's parents were easier to win over; all it took was a dimpled smile and a delicious dinner courtesy of Jaehyun.

("You can cook?" Doyoung asks, surprised as Jaehyun rolls up his sleeves and runs a couple of carrots under a stream of water.

"I can cook," Jaehyun assures him. "Go ask Sicheng, I bring over dishes in microwaveable tupperwares to him and Yuta every week because they'd order take-out for the rest of their lives otherwise."

"Wow. And you didn't bother to tell me about this before?"

"I like it when you cook for me," Jaehyun kisses the tip of Doyoung's nose. "Set the table for me when the chicken goes in the oven, please? In about an hour."

"Got it, chef.")

Jaehyun is allowed to stay in Doyoung's room, and they're cuddling on Doyoung's bed after everyone's retired for the night. "You didn't have to buy hyung all of those, you know. He forgot to pre-order them because he was caught up with work but he was gonna go out and buy ten copies anyway." Doyoung's chest is pressed against Jaehyun's back, both of them facing the tiny window in the corner of Doyoung's room. He runs a hand through Jaehyun's voluminous hair, watching it slip from his fingers like silk.

"He seemed happy about them and that's all I can ask for. At least now he stopped glaring at me like he did when he came to pick us up from the station."

"That's because your 'gifts' didn't fit in the trunk and your luggage is obnoxiously heavy. Other than that, I think he likes you."

"Ah, yes, the power of Jeongyeon."

Doyoung tugs Jaehyun to face him. "Thank you."

Jaehyun's nose scrunches up in confusion. "For what?"

"For everything. For being here. I don't know, just...thank you."

"You're welcome," Jaehyun smiles, and the moonlight makes him look like he's glowing. Doyoung pinches his cheek to keep himself from being too sappy and Jaehyun whines.

Before Doyoung drifts off to sleep, he hears Jaehyun mumble, "Next time, I'll be the one taking you on a trip. To Paris, or London, or maybe both."

"Not so fast. We have a deal, remember? You promised that you won't spend too much money on me."

"How much is too much?"

Doyoung moves to elbow Jaehyun, but Jaehyun wraps his arms tighter around Doyoung to restrict him. "You agreed to have exceptions for special occasions! Watch me book us flights to Europe to celebrate your graduation."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"You'll never know." Jaehyun kisses Doyoung's forehead. "Don't worry about it for now, hmmm? Goodnight, Doie. I love you."

It doesn't dawn on Doyoung that it's the first time he's ever heard Jaehyun say those words to him explicitly. He murmurs a soft "love you too" and he falls asleep, dreaming of kisses and warm hugs under a brightly lit moon.

He only remembers when he wakes up to find Jaehyun not in his bed but in the kitchen instead, helping his mother prepare breakfast. He watches from the doorway as his mom laughs at a joke Jaehyun tells, and he smiles at the strand of hair sticking out from Jaehyun's head. If this is what love is like, then Doyoung welcomes it with open arms.

.▪︎•°•°•°•▪︎.

After Doyoung graduates and finds a job as a newbie architect at a construction company, he and Jaehyun move in together. Doyoung manages to talk Jaehyun out of a penthouse and they snag a cozy little apartment near the university, one bus ride away from Doyoung's new workplace. He still visits the campus from time to time to check up on Jeno, who was seriously considering working at McDonald's to "continue family tradition". Doyoung would never wish working there on anyone, but if Jeno wanted to then he'll make sure to write him a very nice recommendation letter.

"What kind of cheese do you want?" Jaehyun asks as he stops the shopping cart at the dairy aisle.

"The cheapest kind."

Jaehyun frowns down at the assortment of cheeses. "These are the same price though," he holds up a block of cheddar and a container of cream cheese. "Which one do you prefer?"

Doyoung takes the cream cheese from Jaehyun's hands and places it in the cart. "Okay, now we need to get some milk." He looks at Jaehyun with disdain, memories of a milk puddle on their kitchen floor and a sheepish Jaehyun mopping it up surfacing in his mind.

When they pass by the tissue aisle, Jaehyun stops and picks up a pack of paper towels. "Remember this?" Jaehyun waves it around, brandishing it like a magic wand.

"Yeah," Doyoung grins. Jaehyun hits Doyoung lightly on the head with the tissues, and he does it several more times until Doyoung lets out a giggle and wraps his hand around Jaehyun's wrist to prevent him from doing it some more. "Stop fooling around and put it in the cart."

Jaehyun laughs as he drops the paper towels in. "You sure you want these ones? I don't think we used this brand before so I'm not sure how good the quality is."

Doyoung takes the cart from him and wheels it away. "Doesn't really matter, we can go pick up some more later in the week. And besides," he looks around to make sure no one is watching and he leans over to kiss Jaehyun's cheek. "I don't care about low quality tissues when I've got a high quality man."

.▪︎•°•°•°•▪︎.

Two years down the road, Jaehyun suppresses a grin as he sees Doyoung sitting at their favorite table at the campus McDonald's. Lunch is on Jeno today, a mini celebration of him not completely flunking his midterms. Doyoung waves at him from behind the glass when he catches sight of him, a gummy smile on his face.

Jaehyun breathes in deeply and pats his pants pocket lightly, hoping that the velvet box isn't too prominent. The ring inside is a bit too simple for his taste, but he hopes that Doyoung will like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember when I said story in general won't exceed 5k words, oh you sweet summer child
> 
> some extras:  
\- they actually did end up going on a European trip after Doie's graduation! Couldn't write the scene in full so I didn't include it here (for now)  
\- highkey wanted to include a kareoke scene but if this got any longer I was going to scream so @ Ate Marchy I will have them belt out Lemon another time uwu  
-...actually no, please just imagine that after they ate they headed off to a kareoke bar and Jaehyun pops the question by singing Marry You by Bruno Mars. The end.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who was waiting for this story to be told in full! I mainly write for the Dreamies (mostly Hyuck) and this is my first hyung line fic so :3
> 
> twt: [@whatsavotingacc](https://twitter.com/whatsavotingacc?s=09)


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